["My relic?"]
Tiamat tilted her head, ["But right now I'm just a spirit body."]
As soon as her words fell, Alvin revealed a somewhat mysterious smile.
"Who told you that a spirit body doesn't have relics on it?"
———
[Camelot Palace]
In the flower garden, lush summer foliage bloomed under the hazy night. On an exquisite white wooden table sat a cup of slightly cooled black tea. Artoria sat in the pavilion, wearing her golden crown and a cloak, quietly gazing at the distant lake.
After the banquet ended, she hadn't gone back to rest, but immediately threw herself into work.
That said… in reality, the state affairs she needed to handle now were far fewer than before.
After the battle with Attila, both the transmigrators and the Beasts lurking in the shadows had suddenly settled down. It had to be said, while not everything could be solved by force, that didn't mean force was useless.
At the very least, the existence of the "Wielder of the Promised Sword of Victory" now acted like a massive deterrent. Unless someone was absolutely confident, no one would be willing to fight a White Dragon wielding that sword.
Artoria closed her eyes. After an unknown length of silence, she suddenly spoke slowly, "Since when did you pick up the bad habit of peeping on others, Merlin? Oh, I remember, since always."
There was no response in the pavilion.
Artoria said nothing, only turned her head to look at a large tree behind her.
The night wind brushed gently past, rustling the leaves. A white-haired mage leaning lazily against the tree, holding a staff, appeared silently.
The white-haired mage smiled and raised a hand in greeting, "Your perception seems to be getting sharper… I was just watching from afar and still got noticed?"
Artoria glanced at him and said calmly, "That's because I've been watched too many times before. I gradually got used to being wary of my surroundings."
"Rather than my perception improving, it seems you've grown more fond of peeping on others."
Having his true nature exposed, Merlin didn't feel embarrassed. He simply scratched his head and said with a smile, "Looks like it's not just your perception. Your ability to talk back has improved quite a bit too… that should be Princess Morgan's influence, right?"
Artoria didn't bother wasting words with him and asked directly, "What did you come to me for?"
"It's not anything urgent. It's just that Alvin fought the king of the Hun Empire today, and the enemies lurking in the dark seem to have withdrawn. I've got nothing to do, so I thought I'd find someone to chat with," Merlin smiled.
"You weren't this cold to me before, Lily."
As the court mage of Britain and Artoria's "teacher," Merlin used to be someone she respected greatly. But after being manipulated by him, she became disappointed, even hurt. Combined with Alvin's departure, her heart had completely shut itself off.
Even after reuniting with Alvin later, her attitude toward Merlin was hard to change.
Looking at the unmoved Artoria, Merlin seemed genuinely dejected. He sighed lightly and said helplessly, "The main reason I came to see you this time is for one matter."
"What?"
Merlin looked into Artoria's eyes, his tone growing more serious, "This matter… is related to the Age of Gods, or rather, to the future of all Britain."
———
Mordred lay on the sofa with her hands behind her head, yawning out of boredom.
She had just attended today's banquet and now had nothing to do.
Not far from her, a young girl with long black hair was staring at her. There seemed to be a hint of concern in her eyes, as if she wanted to speak but hesitated.
Tohsaka Rin.
The banquet had invited high-ranking figures from Britain and the transmigrators. Rin was still young, so she hadn't attended.
"What's wrong? You've been staring at me for a while. If you've got something to say, just say it."
Mordred lazily glanced at Rin and suddenly spoke.
"Are you asking about my father?", She continued.
Caught so directly, Rin's delicate face froze for a moment. Under Mordred's gaze, she became visibly flustered and subconsciously looked away.
"You're mistaken… I was just curious about who attended the banquet today."
She said that, but a girl her age didn't know how to hide her thoughts. Seeing her obvious reaction, Mordred already understood.
A playful smile appeared on her face. She yawned as if nothing had happened and said, "I see, I thought you were worried about my father's injuries."
"He, he got hurt?"
Rin's eyes widened instantly, full of disbelief.
She still remembered how effortlessly Alvin handled Sessyoin before. In her eyes, Britain's new king, who ended the "Old White Dragon," couldn't possibly lose.
A faint smile tugged at Mordred's lips. With a straight face, she said, "Yeah… you should know, the king of the Hun Empire is extremely powerful. Even my father had to take it seriously. Getting injured isn't strange."
'Well, even if that's true, the White Dragon's healing ability is so strong that any injuries would heal quickly anyway.'
Mordred muttered to herself.
Meanwhile, Rin fell silent, her eyes flickering slightly as she thought about something.
Mordred watched her with interest.
Rin finally snapped out of it and let out a light "oh," "Heh… telling me this doesn't help anyway. I can't do anything."
Mordred nodded lightly, "That's true… go to sleep. Kids should sleep early and wake early."
Rin didn't respond, only unconsciously glanced out the window.
———
Ten minutes later—
The little girl quietly opened her eyes. Carefully lifting a corner of the blanket, she stole a glance at the sleeping Mordred, then tiptoed out of the room.
Only after the door closed did the "sleeping" Mordred open her eyes, a pleased smile spreading across her face.
"Still says she doesn't care… heh…"
'Tsunderes really are the most interesting creatures in the world.'
———
[Meanwhile, Elsewhere]
["With this, it can count as a relic?"]
In the room, Tiamat couldn't help asking when she saw the pitch-black crystal in Alvin's hand.
At that moment, Alvin held a black crystal. Within it, one could clearly see some kind of deep and ominous patterns.
"This alone is enough. After this, I'll find a way to summon you."
Seeing the doubt in Tiamat's eyes, Alvin smiled and reassured her.
This was a special crystal symbolizing a Beast. It was indestructible. Even after the erosion of time, it wouldn't weather away.
As a relic, nothing in the world was more suitable than this.
After temporarily saying goodbye to Tiamat, Alvin returned to his room, sat at the table, and then opened a personal interface.
He quickly fell into thought.
At present, his CG achievement progress was at 93%… and the system gave no hints. He had no idea where the remaining 7% was supposed to come from.
'What a headache, I thought beating Attila would give me a new CG achievement, but it doesn't seem that simple?'
A thought suddenly flashed through Alvin's mind.
'Maybe it's because there's no "connection" between me and Attila, so no special achievement was unlocked?'
Every special CG he had unlocked before involved a heroine with a somewhat delicate relationship with him, and Attila clearly didn't fall into that category.
Thinking of this, he couldn't help complaining inwardly, 'Do I really have to build relationships beyond friendship with other girls to unlock new CGs… is this a CG system or a conquest system? Are you waiting for me to get stabbed one day before you're satisfied?'
As his thoughts reached this point, a faint sound of footsteps suddenly came from outside.
Alvin quickly gathered his thoughts and looked toward the closed door.
His powerful perception instantly covered the room, and at the same time, the presence outside entered his awareness.
"Rin?"
Sensing who it was, Alvin showed a hint of confusion, "What are you doing here so late?"
"Can I come in…"
A clear but slightly timid voice came from outside.
"Come in."
After receiving his response, the door was pushed open.
A small girl with long hair stood at the doorway, peeking cautiously inside.
The room wasn't lit, but even in the dimness, she immediately found Alvin.
"What's wrong? Coming to see me so late, did something happen?"
Alvin asked with a smile.
Rin hesitated for a moment, then said carefully, "I heard you went to the border earlier… and got injured, so I wanted to check on you."
Alvin looked at her strangely, "I did go to the border, but I wasn't injured… who told you I was hurt?"
Attila was powerful, but their clash had only been brief, though the destructive power of that Noble Phantasm far exceeded imagination.
'Not injured?'
Rin's eyes widened again as she stared at him. Noticing his puzzled look, the seven-year-old girl's face flushed red instantly, and a thought flashed through her mind, 'I got tricked!'
———
The next morning—
After a night of spreading and fermenting, news of yesterday's border battle had become known throughout Britain.
By now, the people of Britain truly knew that the White Dragon had returned.
Not just returned, but returned as an ally of King Arthur.
Some were thrilled by this, while others criticized and cursed due to the White Dragon's past "betrayal". Of course, criticism aside, his contribution in this battle had to be acknowledged.
Besides that, there was another piece of news… related to the Knights of the Round Table.
Rumor had it that a new member had joined.
No one knew her true identity. People only heard that she wielded a crimson spear and was seventeen years old… beyond that, no one knew more.
Alvin woke up early the next day. He had originally planned to go to the King's Hall to see Artoria, but on the way, he was drawn by the clear sound of weapons clashing.
Following the sound, he entered the training grounds and saw Scathach wielding a rose-colored spear, sparring with a tall, sturdy blond man. Gawain.
At the entrance of the training grounds, two Knights of the Round Table stood with troubled expressions, as if dealing with something difficult.
"How sorrowful… truly sorrowful. How did things turn out like this…"
The red-haired knight Tristan wore a deeply distressed expression, even showing a hint of sympathy toward Gawain.
Alvin walked closer, looked around, and asked in confusion, "Why is everyone sparring so early? So energetic?"
"That's all your fault. You caused the trouble, and now everyone else has to deal with it."
Kay sneered as soon as he saw Alvin, "Miss Scathach insisted on sparring with the Round Table early this morning. She says it's sparring, but really she's venting her frustration."
"What happened to Miss Scathach?"
Alvin was momentarily stunned. He had left the banquet early last night, so he didn't know what happened afterward.
Kay roughly explained what occurred after Alvin left. By the end, Alvin finally understood everything and couldn't help letting out a helpless laugh.
Ever since Scathach had "lost" to Alvin, she had been brooding over it. Even though she comforted herself last night, the more she thought about it, the more annoyed she became. That led to today's scene.
"So everyone's taking the hit for me?"
Alvin sighed, "You're all really united."
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